The effect of agitation speed,enzyme loading and substrate concentration on enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose from brewer’s spent grain

Brewer’s spent grain components (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) were fractionated in a two-step chemical pretreatment process using dilute sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide solutions. The cellulose pulp produced was hydrolyzed with a cellulolytic complex, Celluclast 1.5 L, at 45 °C to convert the cellulose into glucose. Several conditions were examined: agitation speed (100, 150 and 200 rpm), enzyme loading (5, 25 and 45 FPU/g substrate), and substrate concentration (2, 5 and 8% w/v), according to a 2³ full factorial design aiming to maximize the glucose yield. The obtained results were interpreted by analysis of variance and response surface methodology. The optimal conditions for enzymatic hydrolysis of brewer’s spent grain were identified as 100 rpm, 45 FPU/g and 2% w/v substrate. Under these conditions, a glucose yield of 93.1% and a cellulose conversion (into glucose and cellobiose) of 99.4% was achieved. The easiness of glucose release from BSG makes this substrate a raw material with great potential to be used in bioconversion processes.     

Enhancing enzymatic hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose and lignocellulose by adding long-chain fatty alcohols

The effects of long-chain fatty alcohols (LFAs) on the enzymatic hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose by two commercial Trichoderma reesei cellulase cocktails (CTec2 and Celluclast 1.5L) were studied. It was found that n-butanol inhibited the enzymatic hydrolysis, but n-octanol, n-decanol and n-dodecanol had strong enhancement on enzymatic hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose in the buffer pH range from 4.0 to 6.0. LFAs can increase the hydrolysis efficiency of crystalline cellulose from 37 to 57 % at Celluclast 1.5L loading of ten filter paper units (FPU)/g glucan. LFAs have similar enhancement on the enzymatic hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose mixed with lignin or xylan. The enhancement of LFAs increased with the decrease of the crystallinity index. LFAs not only enhanced the high-solid enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose, but also improved the rheological properties of high-solid lignocellulosic slurries by decreasing the yield stress and complex viscosity. Meanwhile, LFAs can improve the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellobiose to glucose, especially at low cellulase loading.     

Efficient cellulose solubilization by a combined cellulosome-β-glucosidase system

The cellulosome, the multienzyme complex of the cellulase system ofClostridium thermocellum, that mediates the solubilization of insoluble cellulose, is strongly inhibited by the major end product, cellobiose. By combining a purified β-glucosidase fromAspergillus niger with the cellulosome, accumulated cellobiose was hydrolyzed thereby resulting in a dramatic enhancement (up to 10-fold) of cellulose degradation. The observed enhancement was expressed both in the rate and degree of solubilization of microcrystalline cellulose, compared with that observed for the unsupplemented cellulosome. Near-complete conversion of cellulose to glucose could be obtained from dense substrate suspensions (up to at least 200 g/L).     

Lactic acid production from cellulosic material by synergetic hydrolysis and fermentation

The hydrolysis process on corncob residue was catalyzed synergetically by the cellulase from Trichoderma reesei and the immobilized cellobiase. The feedback inhibition to cellulase reaction caused by the accumulation of cellobiose was eliminated efficiently. The hydrolysis yield of corncob residue was 82.5%, and the percentage of glucose in the reducing sugar reached 88.2%. The glucose in the cellulosic hydrolysate could be converted into lactic acid effectively by the immobilized cells of Lactobacillus delbrueckii. When the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose and the fermentation of lactic acid were coupled together, no glucose was accumulated in the reaction system, and the feedback inhibition caused by glucose was also eliminated. Under the batch process of synergetic hydrolysis and lactic acid fermentation with 100 g/L of cellulosic substrate, the conversion efficiency of lactic acid from cellulose and the productivity of lactic acid reached 92.4% and 0.938 g/(L·h), respectively. By using a fed-batch technique, the total concentration of cellulosic substrate and lactic acid in the synergetic process increased to 200 and 107.5 g/L, respectively, whereas the dosage of cellulase reduced from 20 to 15 IU/g of substrate in the batch process. The results of the bioconversion of renewable cellulosic resources were significant.     

Mass spectrometric study of glucose and cellobiose produced during enzymatic hydrolysis of α‐cellulose extracted from oak late‐wood annual rings

We present the first results concerning interannual variations in concentrations of glucose and cellobiose, obtained through enzymatic hydrolysis of α‐cellulose. The α‐cellulose was extracted from late‐wood of oak. The tree‐ring chronologies, wood components and their physical and chemical properties provide information about the ecosystem in which the tree grew, and thus information regarding climate variability and the impact of human activity in the past. The large molecular size and insolubility make it difficult to determine precisely the chemical and physical properties of the intact cellulose polymer. Enzymatic hydrolysis is the principal method of degradation of cellulose. In this study the feasibility has been examined of characterizing α‐cellulose through analysis by mass spectrometry (MS) of the degradation products from hydrolysis. Degradation of α‐cellulose was possible without using alkaline or acid buffers. Analysis by MS provided the opportunity to obtain information on the biodegradation of saccharides. The presence of cellobiose and glucose in the degradation product was evidenced by the mass spectra. We have compared the abundances of these glucose and cellobiose ions with carbon isotope ratios, the efficiency of extraction of α‐cellulose from the wood and tree‐ring width indices. The challenge is to establish, with respect to climate changes and environmental conditions, the significance of the variations from one year to another in the observed abundances of glucose and cellobiose ions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cellulose hydrolysis – the role of monocomponent cellulases in crystalline cellulose degradation

Changes in the molecular structure of cellulose during hydrolysis with four recombinant -1,4-glycanases from the cellulolytic bacterium Cellulomonas fimi were assessed and compared in an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of crystalline cellulose degradation. It was apparent that the two endoglucanases, Cel6A and Cel5A, degraded sigmacell cellulose differently; Cel5A liberated more soluble sugars (cellobiose and cellotriose) and significantly altered the molecular weight distribution, while Cel6A had a limited effect on the polymer size and liberated primarily cellobiose and glucose. Additionally, both endoglucanases slightly increased the crystallinity of cellulose. In contrast, the cellobiohydrolases, Cel6B and Cel48A, had no effect on cellulose molecular weight and liberated only cellobiose and cellotriose. However, Cel48A was shown to be effective at reducing the crystallinity of the cellulosic substrate, while Cel6B increased the crystallinity index. Synergistic hydrolysis using combinations of the different enzymes showed that, although the cellulose was extensively hydrolysed, the molecular structure of the substrate was similar to the original material. This phenomenon suggests that the actions of individual monocomponent enzymes are offset by the concurrent modification by the complementing enzymes during synergistic hydrolysis.     

Cascade Enzymatic Hydrolysis Coupling with Ultra ne Grinding Pretreatment for Sugarcane Bagasse Sacchari cation

The biorefinery process for sugarcane bagasse saccharification generally requires significant accessibility of cellulose. We reported a novel method of cascade cellulase enzymatic hydrolysis coupling with ultrafine grinding pretreatment for sugarcane bagasse saccharification. Three enzymatic hydrolysis modes including single cellulase enzymatic hydrolysis, mixed cellulase enzymatic hydrolysis, and cascade cellulase enzymatic hydrolysis were compared. The changes on the functional group and surface morphology of bagasse during cascade cellulase enzymatic hydrolysis were also examined by FT-IR and SEM respectively. The results showed that cascade enzymatic hydrolysis was the most efficient way to enhance the sugarcane bagasse sacchari cation. More than 65% of reducing sugar yield with 90.1% of glucose selectivity was achieved at 50 oC, pH=4.8 for 72 h (1200 r/min) with cellulase I of 7.5 FPU/g substrate and cellulase II of 5 FPU/g substrate.     

Use of Cellulase Inhibitors to Produce Cellobiose

The economics driving biorefinery development requires high value-added products such as cellobiose for financial feasibility. This research describes a simple technology for increasing cellobiose yields during lignocellulosic hydrolysis. The yield of cellobiose produced during cellulose hydrolysis was maximized by modification of reaction conditions. The addition of an inhibitor from the group that includes glucose oxidase, gluconolactone, and gluconic acid during cellulase hydrolysis of cellulose increased the amount of cellobiose produced. The optimal conditions for cellobiose production were determined for four factors; reaction time, cellulase concentration, cellulose concentration, and inhibitor concentration using a Box-Behnken experimental design. Gluconolactone in the cellulase system resulted in the greatest production of cellobiose (31.2%) from cellulose. The yield of cellobiose was 23.7% with glucose oxidase, similar to 21.9% with gluconic acid.     

Optimization of Growth Medium and Enzyme Assay Conditions for Crude Cellulases Produced by a Novel Thermophilic and Cellulolytic Bacterium, Anoxybacillus sp. 527

A newly isolated Anoxybacillus sp. 527 was found to grow on crystalline cellulose as sole carbon and energy sources. Cellulases secreted by strain 527 were better induced by cellobiose, followed by glucose, lactose, sucrose, and cellulose. Cellulase secretion was enhanced by an optimized medium. Cellulase activity was increased by the addition of Ca²⁺ and NH₄⁺ and achieved maximum as 7.0 FPU ml⁻¹ at 70 °C and pH 6.0. Even at 100 °C, the enzymes were still active, which implies their potential application in large-scale cellulose conversion process.     

Modeling the enzymatic hydrolysis of dilute-acid pretreated Douglas Fir

Glucose yield from the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose was investigated as a function of cellulase enzyme loading (7–36 filter paper units [FPU]/g cellulose) and solids concentration (7–18% total solids) for up to 72 h on dilute sulfuric-acid pretreated Douglas Fir. The saccharification was performed on whole hydrolysate with no separation or washing of the solids. Enzyme loading had a significant effect on glucose yield; solids concentration had a much smaller effect even at higher glucose concentrations. The data were used to generate an empirical model for glucose yield, and to fit parameters of a cellulose hydrolysis kinetic model. Both models could be used for economic evaluation of a separate hydrolysis and fermentation process.     

Production of cellulase/β-glucosidase by the mixed fungi culture of Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus phoenicis on dairy manure

A cellulase production process was developed by growing the fungi Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus phoenicis on dairy manure. T. reesei produced a high total cellulase titer (1.7 filter paper units [FPU]/mL, filter paper activity) in medium containing 10 g/L of manure (dry basis [w/w]), 2 g/L KH₂PO₄, 2 mL/L of Tween-80, and 2mg/L of CoCl₂. However, β-glucosidase activity in the T. reesei-enzyme system was very low. T. reesei was then cocultured with A. phoenicis to enhance the β-glucosidase level. The mixed culture resulted in a relatively high level of total cellulase (1.54 FPU/mL) and β-glucosidase (0.64 IU/mL). The ratio of β-glucosidase activity to filter paper activity was 0.41, suitable for hydrolyzing manure cellulose. The crude enzyme broth from the mixed culture was used for hydrolyzing the manure cellulose, and the produced glucose was significantly (p<0.01) higher than levels obtained by using the commercial enzyme or the enzyme broth of the pure culture T. reesei.     

Influence of cultivation conditions on the production of cellulolytic enzymes withTrichoderma reesei Rutgers C30 in aqueous two-phase systems

Cellulolytic enzyme production in aqueous two-phase systems withTrichoderma reesei Rutgers C30 has been investigated. The influ ence of different phase systems, as well as addition of media compo nents and substrate on enzyme production have been studied. Extractive enzyme production in fed-batch cultivations was per formed in a phase system composed of PEG 8000 5%-Dextran T500 7% with 1% Solka-Floc BW 200 as substrate. The cellulolytic enzyme system was intermittently withdrawn with the top phase. Addition of media components every 24 h and cellulose every 72 h gave an aver age enzyme activity in the withdrawn top phase of 2.2 FPU/mL dur ing 170 h cultivation. The corresponding productivity was 18 FPU/lh. The productivity was increased to 24 FPU/l.h when media compo nents and cellulose were added every 72 h. The average enzyme con centration was then 1.6 FPU/mL. The results are discussed in relation to methods for cellulolytic enzyme production involving immobiliza tion and cell recycling.     

Enhanced Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Lignocellulose by Optimizing Enzyme Complexes

To enhance the conversion of the cellulose and hemicellulose, the corncob pretreated by aqueous ammonia soaking was hydrolyzed by enzyme complexes. The saturation limit for cellulase (Spezyme CP) was determined as 15 mg protein/g glucan (50 filter paper unit (FPU)/g glucan). The accessory enzymes (β-glucosidase, xylanase, and pectinase) were supplemented to hydrolyze cellobiose (cellulase-inhibiting product), hemicellulose, and pectin (the component covering the fiber surfaces), respectively. It was found that β-glucosidase (Novozyme 188) loading of 1.45 mg protein/g glucan [30 cellobiase units (CBU)/g glucan] was enough to eliminate the cellobiose inhibitor, and 2.9 mg protein/g glucan (60 CBU/g glucan) was the saturation limit. The supplementation of xylanase and pectinase can increase the conversion of cellulose and hemicellulose significantly. The yields of glucose and xylose enhanced with the increasing enzyme loading, but the increasing trend became low at high loading. Compared with xylanase, pectinase was more effective to promote the hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose. The supplementation of pectinase with 0.12 mg protein/g glucan could increase the yields of glucose and xylose by 7.5% and 29.3%, respectively.     

Covalent Immobilization of β-Glucosidase on Magnetic Particles for Lignocellulose Hydrolysis

β-Glucosidase hydrolyzes cellobiose to glucose and is an important enzyme in the consortium used for hydrolysis of cellulosic and lignocellulosic feedstocks. In the present work, β-glucosidase was covalently immobilized on non-porous magnetic particles to enable re-use of the enzyme. It was found that particles activated with cyanuric chloride and polyglutaraldehyde gave the highest bead-related immobilized enzyme activity when tested with p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (104.7 and 82.2 U/g particles, respectively). Furthermore, the purified β-glucosidase preparation from Megazyme gave higher bead-related enzyme activities compared to Novozym 188 (79.0 and 9.8 U/g particles, respectively). A significant improvement in thermal stability was observed for immobilized enzyme compared to free enzyme; after 5 h (at 65 °C), 36 % of activity remained for the former, while there was no activity in the latter. The performance and recyclability of immobilized β-glucosidase on more complex substrate (pretreated spruce) was also studied. It was shown that adding immobilized β-glucosidase (16 U/g dry matter) to free cellulases (8 FPU/g dry matter) increased the hydrolysis yield of pretreated spruce from ca. 44 % to ca. 65 %. In addition, it was possible to re-use the immobilized β-glucosidase in the spruce and retain activity for at least four cycles. The immobilized enzyme thus shows promise for lignocellulose hydrolysis.     

Semicontinuous production of cellulolytic enzymes withTrichoderma reesei Rutgers C30 in an aqueous two-phase system

Cellulolytic enzyme production was studied in an aqueous twophase system, PEG 8000 5%-Dextran 7%, withTrichoderma reesei Rutgers C30 in a 7L fermentor. In batch cultivations, an average of 2.5 filter paper units (FPU)/mL were obtained in the top phase. In cultiva tions in regular media without polymers, the same enzyme concen tration was obtained. The enzyme yield was 205 FPU/g cellulose in the phase system, and 259 FPU/g cellulose in the regular medium. An extractive fed-batch cultivation was maintained in the aqueous twophase system for 360 h. The enzyme containing top phase was with drawn after phase separation. New cellulose substrate and nutrients were added with the new top phase. The enzyme extraction was started after 120 h of cultivation, and was repeated every 72 h. The total substrate concentration was 40 g/L. A maximum enzyme concentration of 4.8 FPU/mL was obtained in the withdrawn cell-free top phase. The enzyme yield was 148 FPU/g cellulose.     

Effect of Physicochemical Characteristics of Cellulosic Substrates on Enzymatic Hydrolysis by Means of a Multi-Stage Process for Cellobiose Production

The effect of two types of cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose and paper pulp, on enzymatic hydrolysis for cellobiose production was investigated. The particle size, the relative crystallinity index and the water retention value were determined for both celluloses. A previously studied multistage hydrolysis process that proved to enhance the cellobiose production was studied with both types of celluloses. The cellobiose yield exhibited a significant improvement (120% for the microcrystalline cellulose and 75% for the paper pulp) with the multistage hydrolysis process compared to continuous hydrolysis. The conversion of cellulose to cellobiose was greater for the microcrystalline cellulose than for the paper pulp. Even with high crystallinity, microcrystalline cellulose achieved the highest cellobiose yield probably due to its highest specific surface area accessible to enzymes and quantity of adsorbed protein.     

A Simplified Filter Paper Assay Method of Cellulase Enzymes Based on HPLC Analysis

A simplified filter paper assay (FPA) method of cellulase enzymes was proposed based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) measurement. The method was according to the sum of glucose and cellobiose concentrations measured by HPLC that was able to be correlated with filter paper units (FPU) of the cellulase enzymes assayed by the traditional FPA method, regardless of the differences in the sources, activities, and components of the cellulases. This simple and quick assay method for the cellulase enzymes provided another parameter of the ratio of glucose to cellobiose (G/C ratio) representing the capacity of cellulase enzymes degrading cellulose into fermentable monomeric sugars.     

Evaluation and Characterization of Forage Sorghum as Feedstock for Fermentable Sugar Production

Sorghum is a tropical grass grown primarily in semiarid and drier parts of the world, especially areas too dry for corn. Sorghum production also leaves about 58 million tons of by-products composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The low lignin content of some forage sorghums such as brown midrib makes them more digestible for ethanol production. Successful use of biomass for biofuel production depends on not only pretreatment methods and efficient processing conditions but also physical and chemical properties of the biomass. In this study, four varieties of forage sorghum (stems and leaves) were characterized and evaluated as feedstock for fermentable sugar production. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to determine changes in structure and chemical composition of forage sorghum before and after pretreatment and the enzymatic hydrolysis process. Forage sorghums with a low syringyl/guaiacyl ratio in their lignin structure were easy to hydrolyze after pretreatment despite the initial lignin content. Enzymatic hydrolysis was also more effective for forage sorghums with a low crystallinity index and easily transformed crystalline cellulose to amorphous cellulose, despite initial cellulose content. Up to 72% hexose yield and 94% pentose yield were obtained using modified steam explosion with 2% sulfuric acid at 140 °C for 30 min and enzymatic hydrolysis with cellulase (15 filter per unit (FPU)/g cellulose) and β-glucosidase (50 cellobiose units (CBU)/g cellulose).     

TheTalaromyces emersonii enzyme system

In typical fermentations at 45‡C on cellulose/corn steep liquor/ammonium and mineral salts medium, growth of the thermophilic fungusTalaromyces emersonii increases rapidly up to about 50 h and then decreases, presumably because of cell lysis, sporulation, or both. The accumulation of cellulase activity follows closely on growth and essentially reaches a maximum at about the same time that cell protein does. By contrast, two peaks of Β-glucosidase activity are observed, one maximal at about 36 h and the second at about 75 h. Fractionation of culture filtrates showed that the cellulase system is comprised of at least four endoglucanases (EC 3.2.1.4), four or five exoglucanases (cello-biohydrolase; EC 3.2.1.91), and three types of Β-glucosidase (cellobiase; EC 3.2.1.21). All are glycoproteins. Indeed, variation in carbohydrate content may account for some of the observed multiplicity of enzyme forms. Although none of the individual components is active against cellulose, reconstitution experiments show that appropriate mixtures of each type act synergistically to effect hydrolysis of substrate. In addition to the three extracellular Β-glucosidases I (M_r, 135,000), II (M_r, 100,000), and III (M_r, 45,700), an intracellular form, IV (M_r, 57,600), has been isolated. All exist as single polypeptides. The extracellular forms I and III are most active at 70‡C, pH 5, and have half-lives under these conditions of 6 and 3 h, respectively. By contrast, the intracellular form (IV) is most active at 35‡C and is rapidly denatured at higher temperatures. Substrate specificity and other studies provide clues to their possible roles in vivo. Β-Glucosidase III acts as an exoglucohydrolase by removing glucose residues from cellooligosaccharides arising from the action of endocellulases. Β-Glucosidase I is the major enzyme involved in cleaving cellobiose and short chain cellooligosaccharides. In doing so it relieves the inhibition by cellobiose of cellulase action. The intracellular form, Β-glucosidase IV, may have a dual role. By virtue of its transferase activity it may convert incoming cellobiose to the active inducer of cellulase synthesis, whereas by cleaving cellobiose to glucose (hydrolase action) it provides energy for the cell and a repressor of cellulase formation. Four endocellulases have been purified to apparent homogeneity as judged by electrophoresis. Preliminary results show that they all have M_r values of about 70,000 and pI values less than 4. However, they differ from one another in carbohydrate content, thermal stability, and affinity for substrate. The complete cellulase system is most active at pH 4.2, 60–65‡C, and retains about 80% of its original activity after 5 d incubation at 60‡C, pH 5. Avicel and filter paper most effectively induce synthesis of the complete cellulase system, as measured by the ability of culture filtrate to digest filter paper. Cotton, Solka floc, and α-cellulose are also effective inducers, as are “wastes” such as newspaper, straw, and beet pulp. Little or no cellulase synthesis is evident when lactose, cellobiose, or glucose replaces cellulose in growth media. From a practical viewpoint we find that saccharification of beet pulp is most readily achieved by using enzyme (i.e., culture filtrate) obtained by growing the organism on medium containing beet pulp as the source of cellulose. Of the various strains ofTalaromyces emersonii investigated for cellulase production, we found CBS 814.70 to be the best, yielding approx. 0.5 IU/mL of culture filtrate. By medium optimization and genetic manipulation we have isolated a number of mutants of this strain giving 2 IU/mL or more and enzyme productivities of 20–25 IU/L/h. Xylanase, arabinogalactanase, and pectinase activities have also been detected in culture filtrates of the organism when grown on beet pulp. Various lignocellulosic materials, including cotton, Solka floc, Avicel, filter paper, newspaper, and straw, can be degraded by the enzyme system. However, much of our effort has been directed to investigation of the saccharification of beet pulp since it is available in large quantities at central locations and because its lignin content is low. About 85% of the dry weight of this material is accounted for by cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin in roughly equal proportions. Culture filtrates effect significant saccharification of pulp as measured by the release of reducing sugars or of glucose. Ball-milling the pulp prior to incubation with enzyme effects considerable improvement in the extent of digestion. Alkali or peracetic acid pretreatment of the ball-milled substrate facilitates enzymic hydrolysis even further. Good results are also obtained when unmilled pulp is (a) pretreated with pectinase prior to incubation with normal culture filtrates or (b) incubated with more concentrated culture filtrates with good pectinase activity. Under suitable conditions, 80% hydrolysis of beet pulp polysaccharides was achieved in 5 d at 60‡C, pH 5.     

Effects of hemicellulose and lignin on enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose from dairy manure

This study focused on the effect of hemicellulose and lignin on enzymatic hydrolysis of dairy manure and hydrolysis process optimization to improve sugar yield. It was found that hemicellulose and lignin in dairy manure, similar to their role in other lignocellulosic material, were major resistive factors to enzymatic hydrolysis and that the removal of either of them, or for best performance, both of them, improved the enzymatic hydrolysis of manure cellulose. This result combined with scanning electron microscope (SEM) pictures further proved that the accessibility of cellulose to cellulase was the most important feature to the hydrolysis. Quantitatively, fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis of fiber without lignin and hemicellulose had a high glucose yield of 52% with respect to the glucose concentration of 17 g/L at a total enzyme loading of 1300 FPU/L and reaction time of 160 h, which was better than corresponding batch enzymatic hydrolysis.